9 physicists discuss what lies ahead in physics, from the Quantum to the Cosmos. Drs. White and Zeilinger appear courtesy of Institute for Quantum Computing.

Performers: Penderecki String Quartet, Roman Borys, cello, Dancetheatre David Earl Quantifying Goethe presents an evening of music examining the influence of Wolfgang von Goethe on literature, music, and science. The program features the world premiere of award-winning composer Kotoka Suzuki s Quantum Quartet for the Penderecki String Quartet, plus interactive video, dancers, and a quantum computer!

One of the most obvious facts about the universe is that the past is different from the future. We can turn an egg into an omelet, but can't turn an omelet into an egg. Physicists have codified this difference into the Second Law of Thermodynamics: the entropy of a closed system always increases with time. But why? The ultimate explanation is to be found in cosmology: special conditions in the early universe are responsible for the arrow of time. This talk will be about the nature of time, the origin of entropy, and how what happened before the Big Bang may be responsible for the arrow of time we observe today.

Based on the success of the Ansari X PRIZE (which stimulated the creation of billion-dollar private spaceflight industry) and more recently the launch of the $30M Google Lunar X PRIZE and the $10M Progressive Automotive X PRIZE, this talk explains how to incentivize breakthroughs. Traditional thinking, risk-aversion and incrementalism will cause the demise of companies unable to cope with the coming decades of disruptive innovation, while the rapid growth of key exponential technologies (Nano, Info, Bio) are empowering individuals and companies to do what only governments were able to achieve in past decades. Such technologies will drive a period of significant disruption and opportunity.

What do we really know about the universe? What mysteries are today's top cosmologists investigating? Join a discussion with leading cosmologists to hear fresh perspectives on some of the deepest questions in modern science: What is the mysterious dark matter that fills intergalactic space? Was there another universe before the big bang, and what will happen to ours in the distant future?

You've heard the physicists speculate on parallel universes, space travel, and time travel. Now come and hear a physicist interview the real experts in these subjects: a bestselling science fiction writer and pioneer of virtual reality discuss what you get when you look at science through fiction.

Over the last decade our picture of the universe has changed almost as much as it had in the preceding century. As a result, our picture of the future, both of the universe, and life within it, has dramatically altered as well. This talk will begin by reviewing the recent revolutionary developments in cosmology, and then address several fascinating questions that have arisen as a result of our discovery that the dominant energy of the universe resides in empty space: Can life be eternal in an eternally expanding universe,? Are the laws of physics tailored for the existence of life? What will science in the far future tell us about the universe?

Commitment to space travel has ebbed and flowed. Physicist Stephen Hawking believes the way to ensure human survival is to continue space exploration. Critics of space travel argue that Planet Earth is in dire need of our attention and resources right now. Is there a trade-off between going to space and fighting climate change, overpopulation and other earthly concerns? Be part of the live studio audience for this special edition of TVO's The Agenda with Steve Paikin.

Computer science has served to isolate programs and programmers from knowledge of the mechanisms used to manipulate information, however this fiction is increasingly hard to maintain as devices scale down in size and systems scale up in complexity. This talk will explore the consequences of exposing rather than hiding this underlying physical reality, in areas including logic automata, interdevice internetworking, intelligent infrastructure, digital fabrication and programmable matter. Breaking down these boundaries between bits and atoms can help improve not just the performance but also the relevance of information technologies for some of our greatest technological challenges and opportunities.

In our lifetime we have seen a broad transformation in the way we interact with technology in our daily lives. And further developments in technology promise a continued impact. Are we comfortable living in a world that never shuts off? How has this technology affected us, our thinking, our relationships and the way our work works? Is technological progress always for the better? Be part of the live studio audience for this special edition of TVO's Agenda with Steve Paikin.

Activity recorded from neurons in the brain often looks random or chaotic. How do we make sense of the world and produce precisely controlled responses when so much of the activity in our brains is chaotic? This talk will show how brain circuits can switch between chaotic and well-controlled patterns of activity, illustrating these points with computer demonstrations of network models. This talk will also discuss how chaotic activity may be useful for a healthy brain function and demonstrate what goes wrong when activity is insufficiently chaotic.

It has taken thousands of generations and countless migrations to explore our own small planet. Now, in less than one lifetime, our robot surrogates have ventured to nearly every significant object in the solar system. Vast new territories and landscapes have opened up before our eyes. The experience has transformed the way we understand our species and its place in the universe. It may yet uncover alien life. Join scientists in a discussion of what we are learning today from worlds beyond Earth and find out where this effort is likely to lead us next.

Where does technology come from? Physics! Exploring basic mysteries such as "What is light?", "How can atoms exist?", and "What is space and time?" led to computers, wireless communication, mp3 players, lasers, medical imaging - indeed, virtually every "high tech" device on the planet. Join us in a celebration of the immense power of theoretical physics to transform our world for the betterment of humanity, and learn how current theoretical explorations may hold potential for even more fantastic innovations in the future.

Our understanding of the physical world at the most fundamental level is based on two theories: quantum theory and general relativity. They are impressively successful when each is considered on its own, but in situations where both play a role, we are reduced to puzzles and absurdity. To the great frustration of researchers, candidate theories of quantum gravity produce more puzzles than answers. We shall tour of some of the problems, focusing on the role of spacetime and causality. We will consider the possibility that spacetime did not always exist but is instead emergent and explore how one can create a spacetime from a world with no notion of "here" and "there".

In this closing session, festival panelists will look back over the preceding ten days to review what we've learned about the Quantum, the Cosmos, and Ideas for the Future.